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Drew Shore Signs Contract With Florida Panthers

"The Florida Panthers signed 21-year-old prospect Drew Shore to an entry-level contract Monday, three days after Shore's University of Denver team was eliminated in the NCAA hockey tournament. Heralded as one of the top prospects in the Panthers' organization, the American tallied 22 goals and 31 assists in 42 games for Denver in 2011-12. Shore, a second-round pick in 2009, bypassed his senior season and a chance at free agency to sign with the Panthers."

According to Western College Hockey & various other outlets, Drew Shore signed a professional contract today with the Florida Panthers of the NHL.

Shore scored 50 goals and had 68 assists in three seasons with the Pioneers. He led the team in scoring in both his Sophomore and Junior seasons and anchored a power play unit that improved markedly this season. He scored 12 game winning goals during his career at DU.

Shore's biggest contribution may have been blazing a trail for his brothers at DU. Nick has been a solid contributor in his first two seasons and Quentin will join the team this summer. Youngest brother Baker is waiting in the wings, but hasn't committed to a school yet.

Defense looks good for next year assuming no departures. Forwards...a lot of unknowns and doesn't look nearly as strong as prior years. This probably means we'll get to the Frozen Four finally :-)

Assuming Zucker and Bennett are gone also, 47% of our points from the prior year are gone between them and the seniors. Here's projected line ups (mainly just put down players to get a feel, no analysis into what will actually make good combos):

Although we all knew that it was probable that Drew would leave, I am still a little disappointed. It would have been great seeing him play with his two brothers. So many of these guys early, and they can never breakout of the minors.

Assuming Bennett and Zucker leave, will there be a couple of spaces available next year?

Ugh, I was really hoping that Drew would stick around for his final hurrah and play with his two brothers and lead this team next year. But he sure seems ready for the next level. He was outstanding for DU and will be sorely missed. Best of luck, Drew!

Congrats to Drew. He had a great career at DU. Of course I'm bummed, too. If Drew returned, I thought there would be a decent chance of Beau returning, too. Now, I think we need to count on Zucker, Drew and Bennett as all gone. That could mean a bit of a rebuilding year. But on the other hand, those forward lines that are described above don't look too bad. Loney was very impressive for a freshman, and could have a terrific sophomore campaign. Nick Shore will be very good, same with Ostrow. The wild card to me is Knowlton--he will have a lot more responsibility next year, and if his flashes of brilliance turn into consistent play next year, then we could have a pretty good offense. Supplement that with LaLeggia, Mayfield and Makowski on the blue line, and things don't look too bad.

So here we go DU fans - with calling the first unofficial freshman jersey # assignment, unveiled right here on the LetsGoDU Sports Blog and NOWHERE else in the world - right here, right now. This is unprecidented. Get your cameras ready..... "A FRESHMAN FROM DENVER COLORADO, NUMBER 15 QUENTIN SHORE"

Loney improved a lot, but I wonder how much of his production was linemate-related. His skating needs to get better. Ostrow is a decent college player, but not a special player. Knowlton has some speed, but he's far a from a complete player, especially defensively. Nick Shore is the only proven returning college producer we have up front, and he's a passer, not a scorer.

All of these guys will get better production with increaaed ice time, but I don't see them replacing the 47% of offense that will likely be lost this year.

Percentage of scoring production lost is often a misleading stat: it doesn't take into account the remaining players rising up the ranks and improving, players having increased offensive responsibilities, players having more power play time, and changes in coaching strategy which result in different scoring distribution. But in this case, losing who we appear to be losing really should cause a significant drop off in team offense, unless we get 2 or 3 pleasant surprises, in terms of players really stepping up their game. On the other hand, don't forget Makowski--we didn't have him this year, and he could provide the offensive numbers of an above-average forward.

DU has done a good job of reloading when they have lost players to graduation or to the pros pretty much every year, I'm not very worried about this. We lose good players every year and it seems like there are always other players that step up and fill the gap. We may not be the best team next year but we won't be the worst. I'm not worried.

I knew this was coming but I'm still completely shocked by it. As stated by others above, I really thought the draw of being with his brothers would have kept him here next year. Best of luck to you Drew, sure hope you have an outstanding career and enjoy every moment of it!! Thanks for the great 3 years.

As dg said, "Sensational career at DU and his leap in development from Freshman to Sophomore year was incredible." And he stepped it up again this year. Congrats to Drew, but we will surely miss you wearing the Crimson and Gold.